The game of football requires coordination between mental and physical skills. In order to improve these skills, players are subjected to numerous practice sessions generally in a formalized setting in order to learn new or different techniques or procedures.
It is often desirable for a quarterback or kicker to practice against a scout team having a defensive line which mimics an upcoming opponent in order to become better prepared or accustomed to what is likely to happen in a real game situation. Often times players will be injured during the noted practice sessions. For obvious reasons, it would be desirable to prevent injuries to team players during practice.
Furthermore, often times it is not possible to assemble a scout team which has the same height and width characteristics for a player in each position in order to simulate the upcoming opponent. It would be desirable for a football player, especially a quarterback or kicker to practice against the best “look” of an opponent, utilizing the same formation, as well as having the same or similar height and width dimensions of the opponent.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,618 relates to an apparatus for developing skill in playing football, the device consisting of a target game unit and a training unit which are detachably attached together; and in which the training unit includes a pair of upstanding frames mounted upon caster wheels so to be movable across the ground, the frames supporting several simulated player rusher's consisting of a fabric sheet stretched on a depending frame and the sheet having slits; and the target game unit consisting of netting pockets formed on a fabric sheet supported along its edges by tension springs from a tubular metal frame provided with means for being retained in an erect position while players toss a ball or the like into the pockets.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,076 relates to an apparatus for training athletes to reportedly improve their ability to concentrate on, track, and handle or catch a ball in motion with at least one central elongated body, a plurality of barrier arms for each elongated body with the barrier arms extending outward from and being arrayed along the central elongated body, and a mounting system for each central elongated body that is attached to and holds each central elongated body upright in substantially vertical position without the use of external supports. Barrier arms are made of flexible material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,951 relates to a sports training device, which is a simulated human figure having at least one movable limb; a fluid-containing actuating system connected to the movable limb; and a trigger device connected to the fluid-containing actuating system, for activating the fluid-containing actuating system. The training device reportedly provides a distractive movement to acclimate the sports player to distractions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,185 relates to an athletic training device comprising a base, an upright supported by the base, and a planar training shape simulative of a human athlete, including head, torso, arms and legs, mounted on said upright. The vertical height of the training shape is adjustable, and the arms articulate at the elbows and shoulders so that the position of the arms is adjustable. The training shape will remain at a predetermined height with the arms in a predetermined posture, so that the training device will represent an opponent at the posture and position for which the ball handler seeks to develop the countermove. Once the simulated opponent is countered at a first position and height, the height of the opponent can be raised.